Who is that suited man? Flashing onto the scene, with head held high, coming to save the day. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, its Superman… er, I mean, a bunch of lawyers? Life in the small towns of Texarkana and Marshall has become increasingly different the past few years and the majority of the population knows nothing about it.
These two towns have become a stopping point for teams of lawyers and legal representatives of big businesses. Many of the local businesses have taken notice because of the increase in patronage but the rest of the inhabitants of these quaint little towns can only scratch their heads and shrug their shoulders in wonder.
Unbeknownst to them, their home town has become battleground for patent infringement litigation cases of the heavy weights of the business world. The likes of Texas Instrument Cisco and TiVo have come to town to settle their cases versus “patent trolls” trying to make a buck off of them.
The oddity of seeing their favorite local restaurants full of suit and ties, of fax machines and copiers being loaded off of trailers and of long-time empty buildings in downtown being renovated has stirred up some questions, but for the most part, normal life continues on.
With the likes of hundreds of millions of dollars hanging in the balance in their court house, John and Jane Doe’s main concern is if “Law & Order” will be a rerun.
The phenomenon taking place in Marshall and Texarkana is the likes of a good western movie. Riding out of the Texas town triumphant, as the dust settles the townspeople look to one another and ask “Who was that suited man?”
For those who hadn’t seen the show “Marriage Ref” one thing that happens to you when you watch is you find yourself quickly trying to identify who you side with. Taking you through a collage of video footage, you hear about a problem in the marriage and watch as celebrities and the host decides who is at fault.
You’ve seen the signs. It usually takes place as your entering into a county, small town, and even a few medium sized cities. Just as you drive up, you look to see what the highway sign says and there you see it, “Home of…” and thereafter follows the name of the local man or woman who has made some type of impact to bring recognition to their hometown.
You have probably heard of the Big 3 of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh and of the impact they made in the NBA this past off season when the three made the decision to join forces on the Miami Heat. Of course most of that impact has been made in the hype more than the product on the court. That is, so far.
Like a modern day Alamo, the people of the Republic of Texas in Marshall need to board up the windows and doors and get ready for the fight of their life. Except it’s not the Mexican Army that’s coming, it’s the Coalition for Patent Fairness. And let me tell you, they have some heavy hitters. In response to heavy hits that they have been taking, some large businesses have formed or joined this coalition in order to bring reform to how patents and patent litigation is done.